1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to footwear traction and/or cushioning and safety cleats, specifically a disposable, one-piece, all-surface cleat with a self-adhesive back, which attaches quickly and easily to any footwear for sport, game, play or work, when additional foot traction, cushioning and/or reflective or light production benefits, are desired.
2. Description of Prior Art
The purpose for incorporating cleats into footwear has been primarily to enhance foot traction. Known cleats for sports and games utilize a male threaded post, hub, or other attaching device affixed to the top portion of the cleat. These cleats attach to footwear by screwing a male threaded post, hub, or attaching bayonet-style device into an implanted female base, or mounting device built into or attached permanently to the sole and heel areas of footwear. By design, this limits the footwear to a singular permanent use. As a result, this adds additional costs to the footwear, both to the manufacturer and to the consumer. Additionally, this renders the footwear useless for most other needs.
With the introduction of more modern manufacturing techniques, such as injecting and molding plastic resins, cleats today still attach in the same manner as before by screwing or attaching the cleat into a permanently mounted base in the sole and heel areas of the footwear. Additionally, cleats have had a singular purpose, and that is to add traction to footwear.
Cushioning, safety features, reflective or light production benefits, and advertising products and ideas as part of a cleat, have not been incorporated into known cleats, partially due to the restrictive size, shape and permanent nature of existing cleat designs along with traditional mounting placements. Cleats with a female threaded mounting device, or attaching bayonet-style device built into, permanently attached to the footwear, or molded into the sole and heel of footwear, limit variations in cleat shape and size by the existing restrictive size and required placement of the mounts to the footwear. Shapes such as square, oval, diamond, triangular, over-sized, unique, etc., are not adaptable to the restricted locations and attachment procedures necessary for these cleats.
Most commonly known cleats utilizing a male threaded post, hub or mounting device to attach the cleat to footwear have not included, by design, the additional advantage of marketing through tread, size, or uniquely shaped design, etc. Furthermore, cleats have been limited to addressing the requirements of sports and games, not exploring an expanded scope for uses in areas where dangerous surface conditions exist, such as slippery floors, icy areas, or any other locations where temporary non-skid traction for footwear would be useful. Additionally, these cleats consequently suffer from a number of additional disadvantages:
References CitedU.S. Pat. Documents6,647,647Nov. 18, 2003Auger, et al.36/134;6,543,160Apr. 18, 2003Price36/127;6,530,162Mar. 11, 2003Carroll36/134;6,519,879Feb. 18, 2003Gee36/134;6,338,208Jan. 15, 2002Waterbury36/134;6,481,122Nov. 19, 2002Brahler36/134;6,381,878May 7, 2002Kennedy, III, et al.36/134;6,327,797Dec. 11, 2001Deacon, et al.36/127;6,305,104Oct. 23, 2001McMullin36/127;6,209,230Apr. 3, 2001Curley, Jr.36/127;6,167,641Jan. 2, 2001McMullin36/127;6,115,974Sep. 12, 2000Swindle36/134;6,094,843Aug. 1, 2000Curley, Jr.36/127;6,052,923Apr. 25, 2000McMullin36/127;6,023,860Feb. 15, 2000McMullin36/127;6,009,640Jan. 4, 2000Deacon, et al.36/127;5,996,260Dec. 7, 1999MacNeill36/134;5,940,993Aug. 24, 1999Ronci36/134;                (a) Known cleats have a single purpose by design, with permanent attachments that allow for replacing cleats on the sole and heel of footwear to enhance foot traction.        (b) Footwear made specifically for use in one sport or game such as golf, has by design only that one purposeful use.        (c) Known cleats address only foot traction; they are not disposable, one-piece, self-adhesive, all-surface, cushioning and/or heating, cooling and light production cleats designed to accommodate the needs of sports, games, play, work and safety conditions.        (d) Often cleats attach only to the brand of footwear for which they were manufactured. Most replacement cleats are not compatible with other brands of footwear, other sports or games, due mostly to the thread design of the post, hub or attaching device of the cleat.        (e) Benefits such as advertising, have not been widely incorporated into cleats for the use of manufacturers, retail outlets, companies, groups, individuals, etc., wishing to promote their company, products, ideas, etc.        (f) Footwear designed for sports or games such as golf, continues to rely on metal or plastic female threaded base mounts built into the soles and heels of footwear for attaching the male threaded post or hub of the cleat. This design limits the use of this footwear to a singular purpose. Additionally, permanently mounted clipon or bayonet style attachments suffer from the same limitations.        (g) Due to the use of permanently mounted bases for attaching cleats to the sole and heel areas of footwear, the shape of cleats has been mostly limited to a circular design, and the size is also limited to accommodate these mounting device locations on specialty footwear.        (h) Known plastic and metal cleats with male threaded posts require special tools to install and remove these cleats from footwear. This process can take several minutes to replace each cleat. To remove worn cleats, the assistance of experienced help is often required. Additionally, special tools such as a cleat tightening/extracting hand tool or a special cleat tightening/extracting drill bit for use with electric hand drills are required to remove and replace worn cleats.        (i) An individual attempting to participate in a sport or game without the footwear designed for that specific sport or game could suffer loss of foot traction. Loss of foot traction could affect performance and safety.        (l) Footwear designed and manufactured for a specific sport or game could cause discomfort for some. This discomfort could affect performance.        (k) Other needs for additional foot traction not addressed with the traditional type of cleat include, but are not limited to, unstable conditions due to ice and snow, slippery surfaces, all temporary needs for non-skid type footwear, as well as safety-related needs.        